Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-09-01

the accounts Of MS adventures ulOsI
widely circulated after his death, 70 steal
his glory and villify him. He was fin
ally murdered by his own men.
@1'here are however, In existence, in
France, many documents, papers, and
maps of these times, yet unpublished.
Mr.. Pierre Margry, of Paris, is especial
ly noted for his knowledge of them.
No one can investigate these early times
without Indebtedness TO him. These
valuable documents are soon 70 be CIV
en- to the world and at the expense of
the United States"
In 1869, Ia Sale, with Galinee and
another, was among the Senecas, wish
ing to explore the Ohio and Mississippi;
and after present of two coats, four
kettles, six hatchets, and some glass
beads declared they had come to see
the people called by them Toagenha,
living on the Ohio river, and desired a
captive of that nation as a guide. .....
f'If they were to go by portage from
the westerly end of Lake Erie, the
'Toagenha' were probably we'll down
the Ohio, and were no doubt the Shaw
nees. They finally got two guides, one
of whom-a Shawnee-fell to La
SaIle. The party went to the head of
Lake Ontario, crossed to the grand river
of Lake Erie, and La Sale left them.
They propecuted a journey along the
north shore and by a roundabout way
back to Montreal. 1t was from this
excursion that Galinee made his map.
Where was La Sale during the next
three years? Perhaps Mr.. Margry's s pa
pers will tell us more fully. He was
exploring, it is thought, during q por-
ton of the time, the Ohio and some of
its branches. On the map mentioned
the Ohio is called "Olighira Sipon or
Olighia allegheny Sipon" by the Iro-
quois or in Ottawa the beautiful river
The Ohio and the Wabash are frequently
COMPOUNDED; map of1637 call it 'Dono'
or "Albaeha"-Ohio or Wabash. A
Dutch map of 17OS calls the Ohio,
"Oubach." A map of ITO makes the
Ohio and Wabash one river and calls it
"Oho." In I'LL it is called "Ochio."
Finally it settled down to "Ohio." We
must return, however, to La Sale,
whom we have already noted as having
returned from his mission to France.
He had three purposes in view-first,
to develop c Champlain's idea of finding
a pathway to China-just as many fool
hardy adventures of the present day
risk life and health in the vague hope
of discovering the "open Polar sea" and
the "Northwest passage" second, to
occupy and develop the resources of the
region of the great lakes; and, third, to
descend the Mississippi and to establish
a fortified post at its mouth. Thereby
securing an outlet for the trade of the
interior, and checking the progress of
Spain on the Gulf of Mexico. ..t...
In January, 1879, we find La Sale
and his companions dragging their
cannon and materials for ship-building
around the falls of Niagara, and laying
the keel of the vessel at the mouth OF
Cayuga creek-a schooner of forty-five
tons burden, named the "Griffin." On
the 7th of August, she started on her
cruise, with an armament of five can
mons and company of thirty-four men
the first sail ever spread over the
waters of Lake Erie. Four days later
she entered Detroit river, encountered
a terrible storm on Lake Huron-passed
the straights and reached Green Bay
early in September. A few weeks later
she started back to Niagara, laden with
furs and was never heard from. La
Sale awaited the supplies which the
"Griffin" was expected to bring back
and spent the time in exploring Lake
Michigan; before the end of the winter
he became certain that the "Griffin'
was lost but nothing daunted, on the
Sd of March, 1880, with five compan-
ions, he undertook the perilous feat OF
returning to Quebec on foot. This he
accomplished, re-organized his expedi-
tion, set out for the present site OF
Chicago, thence to the. Mississippi
which he descended and in 1882, stand
ing on the shores of the Gulf, in the
name of "Louis the Great" took pos
session of the valley of the Mississippi
and named the country louisiana
Upon that single act rested the claim O
France to the vast scope of territory
from the Alleghenies to the Rocky
Mountains, and from the Gulf to th'
farthest springs of the Missouri. Thi'
was the crowning triumph of Rem
Robert De La Sale, Cavalier, Sieur, wht
was born in France, l643, and died 1857
LA SALE IN OHIO. II
Mr.. Kitchener, the author of "Th'
Centennial History of the Muskingun
and Tuscarawas Valleys" is of tn
opinion that La Sale was in that regiol
during the three years when he was en-
gagged in exploring the valley of tn,
Ohio. He says: "Whether he reached
the Muskingum at its source or at it
mouth, he was on it beyond doubt
and being there, it can readily be per
ceived that a man of his cast of mine
would not have left the valley until h
had examined the mounds, earthwork
and Notifications at Marietta, Zanes
vile, Newark and other points alon,
the Muskingum and branches. Thi
would have taken up much of his los
three years, for such prolific territory
touching the ancient Americans hat
not then been found in his travels.
"He afterward returned to Canada
and in process of time wandered dowr
the Mississippi, took possession of th'
whole country in the name of Franc
and called it Louisiana. Returning t.
Quebec in 1858, he sailed for France
came back to Canada, organized anothe
expedition and reached Texas. wher
he charged one of his expeditionist
with numbering his son, and this maj
shot the father also. Thus perishet
La Salle.n
The President of the Western Reserv
and Northern Ohio Historical Society
in response to a letter to M. Pierr
Margry, received the following reply
II also reply to your question why 81
little remains of the writings of Ia
Sale prior to 1878. A part were lost ii
tho attack of the TrouuOis on his IllinOi